Rats Begone! Joey’s Park Reopened; Town Asks Patrons To Carry Out Trash/Food

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Photo: Joey’s Park, certified rat free.

After being closed for nearly a month due to an infestation of rats, Joey’s Park will reopen Wednesday, Nov. 22 – just in time for the Thanksgiving Holiday – to the public after the “rodent problem” has been resolved, according to a press release from the Belmont Department of Health.

The play structure adjacent to the Winn Brook Elementary School on Cross Street has been off-limits to the public since mid-October when the Belmont Department of Public Works and the Health Department discovered rats nesting in and around the facility. The town contracted Assurance Pest Solutions, a professional pest control operator to both investigate and treat the infestation using a non-chemical irritant to force the rodents out of the area.

“We are pleased to inform you that the rodent problem has been safely resolved at Joey’s Park and the park is again open for Belmont residents and the general public to enjoy!” read the press release.

To help prevent future rodent infestations at Joey’s Park, the Health Department is encouraging those using the park “to carry in/carry out any food, drinks, and trash items, which may attract nuisance wildlife to the area.”

Put Your Two Cents In: New Belmont High On-Line Survey Ends Nov. 30

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Photo: Survey illustration.

The Belmont High School Building Project Community Input Survey is online, and the residents behind the proposed development want to hear from you!  Share your opinions on the Belmont High School Building Project by filling out the BHSBC Survey HERE before the end of the month. 

The Belmont High School Building Committee has received surveys from more than 1,200 community members, but we still want to hear from you. Take five minutes to complete the survey before the Nov. 30 deadline.

You can also sign up for email updates and learn more about the project, including timelines, videos, meeting schedules, presentations, and more, at www.belmonthighschoolproject.org

Questions can be sent to: BHS-BC@belmont-ma.gov

Bradford Update: First Steel Frame Going Up After Thanksgiving

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Photo: The foundation takes form at the future home of the Bradford in Belmont.

The metal superstructure for the first of three buildings will begin raising from the ground next week as work on The Bradford project marches on, according to the latest news from the former Cushing Village site.

The structural steel erection of the Winslow building – on the former municipal parking lot adjacent Trapelo and Williston roads – “will begin after Thanksgiving and continue through the end of the year,” said Otto Weiss, project manager for property owner and developer Toll Brothers Apartment Living. 

Also, sewer tie-in work on Williston Road for the new building was expected to be completed this week with no further in-road utility work scheduled for the near future, noted Weiss.

The Winslow, a three-story residential structure with ground level stores, is expected to be the first building completed by the team in approximately the early fall of 2018. The Winslow will be the location of the new Starbucks Cafe, replacing the popular coffee shop leveled in the spring. 

In other news, foundation work is moving forward at the Hyland building site – located at the corner of Belmont and Common streets – while excavation of the large parking garage and the Pomona building, at the intersection of Trapelo and Common, will continue through the winter. The Pomona will house a 35,000 square foot retail space, a centerpiece of the 168,000 sq.-ft. apartment/retail/parking complex. 

The development is expected to be fully occupied and all detail work finished by the first day of 2020.

Outside the construction site, the MBTA will be relocating one of its catenary poles located along Trapelo Road.  While this work in not being performed by Toll Brothers or its construction partners Nauset, “we are unable to give you specific scheduling information, it’s our understanding that the work may take place during the week of the [Nov.] 27th and will be done off hours,” noted Weiss. 

Finalists for Town Administrator’s Post to Meet the Public Dec. 5

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Photo: Shirley Town Administrator Patrice Garvin (left) and Kevin Sweet, town administrator in Maynard.

The working group created to nominate candidates to fill the post of Belmont Town Administrator recommended two finalists who will meet with town officials, department heads and the public in the first week of December.

Shirley Town Administrator Patrice Garvin and Kevin Sweet, town administrator in Maynard were selected by the Temporary Town Administrator Screening Committee with help from the management firm of Gerux White Consulting and presented to the Belmont Board of Selectmen on Monday morning, Nov. 20.

The selectmen will vote for the new administrator at its scheduled Monday, Dec. 11 meeting after the candidates are presented to town employees and residents on Tuesday, Dec. 5 at 6 p.m. in Town Hall.

The candidates will fill the position vacated earlier this year when David Kale returned to Cambridge after serving four years in Belmont. 

Committee chair Catherine Bowen along with Rick White of Gerux White Consulting, the municipal management consulting firm that recruits chief executives and other key staff, told the board it had whittled down the number of candidates from 19 in September to 10 and then three with one of the finalists dropping out at the last moment. Bowen noted the committee “accelerated” the process “mindful of the of the market for town administrators” is quite strong

“We would love to have more [applicants] … but we believe the remaining candidates are strong,” said Bowen, with each seasoned and with a proven track record.” 

“We were looking for candidates with the proclivity and inclination to with independent boards and residents on difficult decisions in the future,” said White. 

According to his blog site, Sweet “joined the Town of Maynard in 2009, and served in a variety of leadership roles as the Director of Public Health, Executive Director of Municipal Services and Assistant Town Administrator. On April 1, 2013, he began his tenure as Town Administrator.” Sweet received his bachelor and master of science degrees from Massachusetts Maritime Academy and a Masters in Public Administration from Norwich University.

You can find out more about Sweet here.

Garvin has been Town Administrator in Shirley since 2013. She previously served for six years as executive assistant to the Groton Town Manager and before that was recording secretary for selectmen and other boards in Chelmsford from 2004-2008. Garvin received her bachelor of science degrees in political science and sociology from Suffolk University and matriculated at Boston College where she earned her master’s in education, developmental and educational psychology.

In a recent evaluation of her job performance, Garvin received high marks from the Shirley selectmen.

Garvin has been quite active in the town administrator job market having been a finalist in three previous towns; Leicester, Upton and Easton. In September, Garvin just missed out being named Easton’s administrator, coming out on the short end of a 3-2 vote, her chances reportedly hurt by the town’s residency requirement. 

Sweet has also placed his name and experience out in the market, having been a finalist in Scituate.

“This is a big deal for us,” said Selectman Mark Paolillo on the upcoming decision. “It a big decision that will affect the town for years.” 

Immigrants Tell Their Stories at Belmont Interfaith Thanksgiving Service This Sunday

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Photo:

The iconic Mayflower story of the Puritan Pilgrims voyage to the New World is the first tale of immigrants coming to Massachusetts. On Sunday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. at Beth El Temple Center, 2 Concord Ave., the Belmont Clergy Association will host the group’s annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Service. 

This year, instead of a sermon, there will be several short testimonies from today’s immigrants on the blessings and challenges of making a home here in America. There will also be readings and songs, with representation from Muslim, Jewish, Christian, and Baha’i voices.

Participants will include:

  • Rabbi Jonathan Kraus and Cantor Louise Treitman, Beth El Temple Center
  • Rev. Joe Zarro, Plymouth Congregational Church
  • Holly Javedan and Jen Hoyda, Baha’i faith
  • Rev. Joseph Garabedian, First Armenian Church
  • Rev. David Bryce and Sana Saeed, First Church in Belmont Unitarian Universalist 
  • Rev. Eric Wefald, Payson Park Congregational Church
  • Father Thom Mahoney, New Roads Catholic Community
  • Farah Abbas, Belmont Muslim Friends

There will be an Interfaith Choir singing, led by Cantor Treitman. If you are interested in singing in this choir, please arrive at 6 p.m., and if you are interested in getting advance music, you can contact Cantor Treitman at cantortreitman@betheltemplecenter.org.

Light refreshments will be served after worship, and we will be taking a collection to benefit the Belmont Food Pantry. 

BREAKING: Teachers’ Union, School Committee Reach Tentative Contract Agreement

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Photo: Belmont Education Association logo.

After working without a contract for the past two and a half months, representatives from the union representing Belmont’s teachers and the School Committee told the Belmontonian they had reached a tentative multi-year contract.

While attorneys for both sides are hammering out the final wording, a contract will be presented to the union membership and the school committee members “soon,” said John Phelan, superintendent of the Belmont School District.

“We have come to an agreement,” said John Sullivan, president of the Belmont Education Association on Tuesday night.

A joint press release will be issued with the contract’s details including salary and benefits “before Thanksgiving.”

The contract will cover approximately 500 union members, of which 330 are teachers and educators in Belmont’s six public schools and those working in the district. The BEA employee contract is the largest in the town; at $26.2 million in fiscal year 2018, it just under half of the school budget of $53.0 million. 

The last three-year contract between teachers and the town ended on Aug. 31, just days before the school year began.

Sources said the delay in forming a contract was due to benefits and added responsibilities being asked of educators rather than salaries.

 

Belmont Swimmers/Divers Head to States After Claiming 4th in North Sectionals

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Photo: Belmont’s 2017 senior swimmers: Alison Sawyer, Sophie Lefebvre, Olive Kozelian, Olivia Hardy, Caroline Daskalakis, Julia Cunningham, Julia Bozkurtian. (Captains: Kozelian, Daskalakis, Cunningham and Bozkurtian)

A strong performance against some of the toughest Division 1 competition last Saturday has Belmont looking for a top-five finish as the Marauders head to the Division 2 state finals early Sunday morning in Worcester, Nov. 19.

Belmont’s 165 point total at the North Sectionals at MIT, Saturday, Nov. 11 earned the Marauders fourth place, one point ahead of Middlesex League rival Melrose. Andover took the title with 409 points followed by Reading (356) and Acton-Boxborough (264). 

After so many recent season without top-line sprint talent, Belmont has three as junior Sophie Butte and senior Julia Bozkurtian both recorded season-best times in the 50 yard freestyle with Butte finishing fourth in 24.74 seconds and Bozkurtian in seventh in 25.49, while sophomore Anna Doherty brought home a 10th place medal taking nearly a second off her best for a 25.68. 

Bozkurtian returned to the sprints with an eighth in the 100 free (55.35) while Butte equaled her teammate’s placement in the 100 backstroke in 1 minute 1.84 seconds, dropping nearly four seconds from her qualifying time. Senior Julia Cunningham took two and half seconds off her previous best to grab 12th in the 100 butterfly in 1:02.49 while Doherty finished 15th in 1:02.86. Cunningham would come back with a one-point grab taking 16th in the grueling 500 free (5:44.19, taking 11 seconds off her best) following sophomore teammate Mary Kilcoyne who finished 13th in 5:42.80. 

Belmont put two swimmers in the scoring column in the 100 breaststroke with junior Angela Li (1:12.07) and sophomore Katarina Chen (1:13.41) coming in 12th and 15th. 

Over in the diving area, two of Belmont’s three freshmen competed with Marina Cataldo finishing in 10th with 328.95 points followed by Sophie Cormier (319.2 points) in 12th. Also scoring for the Marauders was Li in the tough 200 individual medley coming in 11th in 2:17.29. 

Belmont garnered a total of 72 points from three outstanding relays; a 9th in the 200 free (Doherty, Olive Kozelian, Kate Sandage and Anna Bauerle in 1:47.72), 7th in the 200 medley (Butte, Li, senior Julia Cunningham and Bozkurtian in 1:55.32, an improvement of four seconds from qualifying) and 4th in the premier relay event, the 400 as Doherty, Li, Bozkurtian and Butte powered through in 3:44.00, taking 4th. 

Belmont High Volleyball Playoff Short But With Promise for Next Year

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Photo: Jane Mahon and 

After securing a playoff spot on the last day of the season, Belmont High Volleyball traveled to the 15-4 Cambridge Rindge & Latin last Saturday, Nov. 3 for the Marauders first sectional game in two years. And it was a quick trip in the postseason for Belmont and their Head Coach Jen Couture as the Marauders lost 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 24-26). 

“Going into the match we knew Cambridge had two amazing outside hitters both with over 200 kills before our match. If you compare stats, we were right with Cambridge in serving, service receiving, and defensively. They just had more kills and aces,” Couture said.

Video: Jane Mahon setting Belmont Volleyball’s kill record.

They often hit down over the block and [sophomore libero] Sophia Estok did a great job adjusting into the back row and was able to pick up 19 digs,” said Couture. “[Junior] Gabby Viale was the go-to hitter for the match, hitting 13 for 14 with 6 kills. Cambridge was solid all around but Gabby was able to find holes in their defense and get balls to hit the floor. 

Despite its brief time in this year’s postseason, Couture is extremely upbeat concerning the program’s future

“We have a lot of players returning and a solid foundation to build upon,” said Couture.

  • Sophomore setter Mindee Lai worked hard in the offseason to come in ready to run our 5-1 offense. Leads team in aces with 50, 3rd in digs, and 4th in kills.
  • Sophomore libero Sophia Estok who was a freshman starting Outside Hitter last year and starting libero this year. She has the record for digs in a single match and serves received in a single match and second in aces with a 93.3 percent serving percentage.
  • Sophomore Nena Trifunovic is our Outside hitter/Right side hitter with a great swing who can hit the ball anywhere on the court.  Was nursing an injury much of the season but started off with 13 kills in the first match and will definitely be a big hitter and blocker for us next season
  • Junior middle blocker Audrey Quinn is second in kills, first in blocks for the season. She’s been a big force for us at the net and is also incredibly good at covering herself when blocked so she keeps points alive. Will no doubt be a force again next season.
  • Junior outside hitter/right side hitter Gabby Viale was the ultimate utility player this season. She has also set and played the middle in practice and at playdates and it someone we could count on to get things done. Came up big in the CRLS match with some strong and smartly placed hits.
  • Junior outside hitter/defensive specialist Leah Babroudi was starting OH/DS this season, second in digs and serve receiving, with the top serving percentage. She is so mentally tough and a warrior on the court that goes all out and leaves everything on the court.
  • Junior middle blocker and captain Jane Mahon also played outside hitter for a number of matches this season.  She is a strong hitter who also is good at finding holes for short shots. Jane is first in kills for the season with 144, second in blocks. She just broke the career kills record in our final match, at 262 before heading into her final season. Jane’s player who isn’t satisfied having the most kills if she feels she could’ve played better. She’s pushing herself and her teammates to be the best players they can be is why she was selected as a captain and what will make our team go even further next season. 
“At the end of last season (when Belmont finished with a 4-14 record) I was incredibly optimistic about the future of our program,” said Couture. “I told myself next year is going to be a good year, and 2018 will be a great year. So far the prediction of this year came true and I’m excited to see what next season brings.”

After OT Win, Belmont Field Hockey Sees Playoff Run End To Central Catholic

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Photo: Junior Morgan Chase scores vs. Central Catholic.

For 60 minutes on Saturday night, Nov. 4, the Belmont High Field Hockey team ran, passed and demonstrated solid stick skills that on most days would secure an easy victory for the Marauders.

But that wasn’t the case on a turf field in downtown Lawrence. It just so happened fifth-ranked Belmont met a fourth-seed Central Catholic High team that decided to show off its best form of the season against the visitors.

“They were really that good,” said Belmont Head Coach Jessica Smith after her team’s 6-1 defeat to the Raiders. “You should feel like you didn’t come out to play. That was not the case. They were superstars tonight and you were outmatched. It happens.”

“I asked their coach if they play like that all the time and she said that [Saturday’s game] was by far their best game of the entire year,” Smith told the Belmontonian. “We just got them on their best day ever.”

“They had to be their best because they were playing us,” noted one of the team co-captains which her colleagues agreed.

Belmont ended their season with a 13-3-2 record which included a 1-0 overtime victory over Natick in the opening round of the sectionals. The seniors, many who played the past three years on varsity, leave a strong legacy to build on, compiling a 42-9-3 record that included two league titles and three postseason appearances.

For senior forward and co-captain Alexa Sabatino, the night brought to a close a successful season for this tight set of teammates.

“At the beginning of the season, we lost two really important players (AnneMarie Habelow and Julia Chase who are currently playing Division 1 college field hockey), so we knew we had to work really hard. And everyone really stepped up because we needed that cohesiveness to go this far,” said Sabatino.

“And it was so much fun coming to practice this year, not one dreads it. It was a great team aspect, so we’re all really happy what we accomplished and be a part of it,” Sabatino said.

As for the game, Central Catholic was rolling on both sides of the ball using a great deal of speed, pinpoint passing and a swarming defense to counter a Belmont team that was performing at a high level of hockey proficiency. Standout defender sophomore Emma Donahue was kept busy with backline teammates seniors Meri Power and Johnna Crowley and sophomore Meaghan Noone to halt the Raiders straight-line offense up and down the pitch.  

But it was the lack of a scoring punch, a bugaboo for Belmont all season long, along with Central Catholics swarming defense around the ball which kept the Marauders off balance inside the attack circle. 

After a close miss by the left post by junior forward Mia Kaldenbaugh, Belmont finally broke through four minutes from the end when junior forward Morgan Chase – who scored against Central Catholic two years ago in a 5-3 victory in an opening-round playoff game – slotted a shot from two meters out into the right side of the Raiders’ net with an assist from sophomore midfield standout Katie Guden.

The Marauders got its post-season off on the right foot against Natick on Wednesday with an exciting 1-0 OT victory at Harris Field that belied just how dominate Belmont was on the pitch. Belmont grabbed 21 penalty corners to Natick’s 1 and had 26 shots to the Redhawks’ 2. But as in Lawrence, Belmont could not find the final touch on the ball despite playing nearly the entire second half in the Natick end.

That lack of a scoring punch nearly came back to bite the Marauders as Natick came out the aggressor in the overtime – when the teams are reduced to 7 players from 11 – as Belmont relied on Donahue to make some critical stops in front of senior goalie Christine MacLeod. The game-winner came two minutes remaining in the first extra session when Guden “decided that this game had gone on too long” and put in a shot from beyond 10 meters to secure the win.

The playoff victory softened the team’s exit from the sectionals which also brought to an end “coaching one of my favorite of all teams I’ve ever had,” said an emotional Smith.

“Now I don’t have anything to do in the afternoons,” Smith told her team saying she even enjoyed coming to practice each day. “Maybe I’ll now just go clean my house,” she said.

Going Up? Lack Of Temp Elevator Could Fast Forward New Police Station Decision

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Photo: An exterior elevator in Italy.

Two months ago, the Major Capital Projects Working Group revealed a long-term plan for a new Belmont Police Headquarters located adjacent to the Water Division facility at the end of Woodland Street. Best guess for its opening? Approximately 2026-ish.  

But there’s a chance the working group could recommend bringing the proposed project before town residents for a funding vote in the next year or two.

What could fast forward the project is whether an emergency “fix” to the existing police station can include a temporary elevator fitted to the exterior of the building. That was the latest update provided by Working Group member Anne Marie Mahoney to the Belmont Board of Selectmen on Monday, Nov. 6 during a board’s review of the warrant articles before Monday’s Special Town Meeting.

“If that elevator can’t be added to the building, then it’s extremely likely in the Spring [the Working Group] will have another plan ready with a new funding source,” said Mahoney.

The Working Group is requesting from Town Meeting $383,000 be spent to create schematic plans for short-term repairs to the Police Station and the main building at the Department of Public Works, both which are in severe states of disrepair. The funds for the designs – which will outline the “emergency solutions” needed to “create … humane conditions for our employees,” according to Mahoney – will come from a portion of the insurance money the town received after an April 1999 fire destroyed the former Kendall School on Beech Street.

Once the designs are finalized, the Working Group will return to the annual Town Meeting in May seeking a bond authorization of between $4 million to $5 million to make the repairs at both buildings.

The big question mark on the future of a new headquarters is a proposed fill-in elevator. The police station doesn’t have a functioning lift in the two-story building which is in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). While the headquarters is allowed to operate under a grandfather clause, once “penny one” of the renovations is spent, the town is required to bring the building up to code.

Back in October, it was assumed a temporary elevator connected to the outside of the building would be sufficient. But since then, other experts are not so sure an elevator is “doable” at the site, said Mahoney.

If the elevator cannot be incorporated in the emergency repairs, Mahoney told the board the working group would develop a secondary plan that would call for the construct a new police headquarters “sooner than later.”

“If we can’t do the emergency repairs now, we have really no choice but to move quickly on a new building,” said Mahoney.

Mahoney said it would take less than a month for schematic designs to be completed by the first of the year, “so we’ll have six to seven months to figure it out” before Town Meeting.

Mahoney said it would be a challenge to develop a funding plan – past estimates pegged a new police station in the $20 million range – which will primarily be competing with a debt exclusion vote for a new/renovated Belmont High School which could reach $200 million.